Annual Bike Week rolls in Saturday

As sure as tulips and native asparagus, a true sign of spring in Franklin County is bicycling — and the annual bike week celebration, which occurs next week.

Bike Week, part of a statewide bicycling celebration partnership between Mass. Department of Transportation, Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike) the state Department of Transportation’s MassRIDES program and the Franklin County Regional Council of Governments.

The fun begins Saturday with an “electrify your bike” workshop from 9 a.m. to noon at Gill Town Hall to explain different ways a bicycle can be converted to electric power and demonstrate how it can be done. Registration can be arranged by contacting Janet Masucci at 413-863-8694 or by emailing jmasucci@msn.com

There’s a 20- to 25-mile “Cyclofemme Ride” on Sunday from the Mount Sugarloaf parking lot in South Deerfield beginning at 9 a.m. Organizer say it’s part of “a global women’s cycling day created “to honor the past ... celebrate the present and empower the future of women in cycling.” Details at www.cyclofemme.com

On Monday, Bike Week will feature a screening of the documentary “The Long Bike Back” Monday at 9 p.m. at the People’s Pint at 24 Federal St. in Greenfield. The 2013 film, about a 3,500-mile bike ride following a cycling accident involving 27-year-old musician Pearson Constantino in New York’s Hudson Valley that left him seriously injured yet determined to promote road sharing and bicycle safety. Together with director Julia Wrona, Constantino, who traveled coast to coast with his brother along U.S. Route 20, will take part in a discussion following the showing.

The Franklin COG will host its annual bike breakfast Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the John W. Olver Transit Center in Greenfield. The event, which will include coffee, juice and light breakfast fare, provides a fun chance to share thoughts on bicycling. The COG will have copies of three newly printed bike maps available highlighting routes that are good for bicycling in eastern, central western Franklin County. On Thursday, the People’s Pint will host a trivia night benefit for MassBike at 8:30 p.m. There will be a $5 donation per player, which goes to the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition, a 35-year-old statewide bicycle advocacy organization. Anyone who becomes a member of MassBike that night will get a free People’s Pint $10 gift certificate.

On Friday, Bicycle World at 104 Federal St., Greenfield, will host a free lunch for bicyclists from noon to 2 p.m.

Bike Week events are intended to celebrate bicycling and to encourage new riders and raise awareness about bicycle transportation.

“With its hills and river valleys, farms and forests, Franklin County is considered one of the premier places to ride, and we want to share that with the public by making them aware of bicycling not only as recreation but as a great way to go to work, to school, or to do errands,” said bicycle commuter and People’s Pint co-owner Alden Booth.